JOPLIN, Mo. —Missouri Southern football used a strong defensive performance and a balanced offensive attack to defeat Central Oklahoma, 23-14, Saturday afternoon at Fred G. Hughes Stadium on Senior Day. The Lions forced three turnovers and turned the takeaways into 14 points.
The win improved Missouri Southern to 4-6 overall and 3-5 in MIAA play, giving the Lions their third consecutive conference victory. Central Oklahoma fell to 4-6 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Missouri Southern jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the opening quarter, scoring on its first two offensive possessions before adding a defensive touchdown.
The Lions' opening drive covered 66 yards in 16 plays and lasted 7:22.
Tillman Martin connected with
Isaiah Padello on key completions to move the chains before
Asher Huffman capped the drive with a 27-yard field goal at 7:31.
Less than a minute later, the MSSU defense created another scoring opportunity.
Keylan Mitchell broke up a pass before
Riley Hammons sacked Central Oklahoma quarterback Jett Huff for a 10-yard loss, forcing a fumble that Mitchell recovered and returned 20 yards for a touchdown. Huffman's extra point made it 10-0.
The Lions forced another UCO punt on the Bronchos' next possession, and
Isaiah Green's 72-yard return gave Southern the ball at the UCO 17. Huffman converted the field position into points with a 20-yard field goal with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Khelton Reed broke up a pass on Central Oklahoma's final possession of the quarter as the Lions carried a 13-0 advantage into the second.
MSSU added to its lead on its first possession of the second quarter, putting together a 10-play, 62-yard drive that ended with Huffman's 31-yard field goal at 9:39.
Martin kept the drive moving with third-down completions to Green for 12 yards and
David Bethune for 38 yards, helping the Lions reach the UCO 13 before settling for three points and a 16-0 lead.
Central Oklahoma answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive and two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 16-8. Southern went three-and-out on its next possession, but the Lions' defense again kept the Bronchos out of the end zone on their ensuing red-zone opportunity.
Ethan Altic and
Briar McIntire combined for a tackle for loss, while
Keylan Mitchell hurried an incompletion to help limit UCO to a 26-yard field goal. The Lions entered halftime with a 16-11 lead.
Central Oklahoma continued to chip away at the deficit in the third quarter, pulling within two points on a 30-yard field goal by Bradley Thao.
The Bronchos reached the Southern 15 on the drive, but
Kason Messenger hurried an incompletion before
Nyjahl Vaughn broke up a third-down pass at the 13, forcing UCO to settle for three points and making it 16-14.
Southern's defense later kept the Bronchos off the scoreboard on two consecutive possessions. UCO missed a 51-yard field goal at the 8:00 mark before
Levi Darensbourg broke up a third-and-3 pass to force a punt.
Green followed with a 52-yard punt return, but a holding penalty brought the return back to the MSSU 27.
Narkel LeFlore then rushed for 11 yards, and Martin connected with Padello for 18 yards on third-and-13 before
Mitchell Cory's punt pinned Central Oklahoma at its own 10-yard line.
The Lions carried their 16-14 advantage into the fourth quarter.
MSSU's defense and field position set up the game's final touchdown early in the fourth.
Tugase Williams sacked Owen Jones for a 6-yard loss before
Dennis Abel intercepted Jones and returned the pick 28 yards to the UCO 17.
Four plays later, LeFlore powered into the end zone from five yards out. Huffman's extra point extended the Lions' lead to 23-14 with 11:42 remaining.
Allen Mitchell carried three times on the short field before LeFlore's touchdown.
Central Oklahoma threatened to answer on its next possession, reaching the Southern 12, but Vaughn intercepted Jones in the end zone for a touchback. The Lions' defense later forced another turnover on downs after
Gavin Walker hurried a third-down incompletion and UCO missed a 42-yard field goal.
Missouri Southern took over at the Central Oklahoma 28 with 2:25 remaining following the turnover on downs. The Lions then converted a fourth-and-1 at the 17-yard line on a run by
Allen Mitchell to help seal the 23-14 victory.
LeFlore led the Southern rushing attack with 52 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while
Allen Mitchell added 48 yards on 20 attempts. Martin completed 12 of 24 passes for 104 yards and added 20 rushing yards.
Padello led the Lions with four receptions for 44 yards, while Bethune caught two passes for 40 yards, including a 38-yard reception.
Defensively,
Peyton McKee and Hammons led Southern with seven tackles apiece. Hammons added a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Kason Messenger and
Brody Eggleston each recorded six tackles.
Vaughn finished with four tackles, an interception and a pass breakup, while Williams recorded a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Keylan Mitchell added three tackles to go with his fumble recovery and 20-yard touchdown return.
Huffman was perfect on the afternoon, going 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts from 27, 20 and 31 yards while also converting both extra-point attempts. Cory averaged 44.2 yards on six punts, including a long of 52 yards.
The Lions controlled the clock for 35:16 and held Central Oklahoma to 305 total yards, including 182 through the air.
Southern forced three UCO turnovers while committing none of its own.
The Lions' four wins in 2026 are the most since MSSU went 5-6 overall (4-6 MIAA) in 2023.
The Lions' three-game MIAA winning streak is their first since 2013, when Southern opened the season with three consecutive conference victories.
Prior to Saturday's game, Missouri Southern honored its 18 seniors —
Reid Adams,
David Bethune,
Daimond Casseus,
Noah Conner,
Mitchell Cory,
Braeden Foster,
De'Shawn Larson,
Narkel LeFlore,
Brodie Hatfield,
Riley Hammons,
Kendall Huston,
Y'Marius Joshlin,
Peyton McKee,
Khelton Reed,
Harold Trainer IV,
Nyjahl Vaughn,
Tugase Williams and
Brayden Zolkoske — during a Senior Day ceremony at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
Missouri Southern will close the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 14, when the Lions travel to Topeka, Kansas, to face Washburn. Kickoff is set for noon.
